If you don’t like cheese this is not for you. If you don’t like noodles, this is not for you. However, if you’re one of the billions of smart people out there who love the creaminess of Alfredo this is dedicated to you! If you want a pasta that’s not as heavy and doesn’t leave you feeling so full, it’s for you. A pasta with more nutrient dense calories than regular pasta. If you want a pasta that just tastes freakin delicious, you clicked the right spot.

How do we get raw pasta? Firstly, we could search the shores far and wide for the exotic “Kelp noodle”. We could search online and pay a gazillion dollars for shipping and handling. We could go into every health food store within a 100 mile radius and get funny looks or shrugs(remember I’m in the south). So that won’t do. We could try to think of some way to create our own noodle from scratch using flaxseed instead of egg, sprouted flour instead of white, and dehydrate?? Sounds like a complicated mess. We could buy a fancy spirolini tool and surely our pasta woes would go away. Well you are more adventurous than I, because I am simply going to vegetable peel some zucchini, and maybe, if I’m feeling brave, some squash or carrots.

When making your noodles, think fettuccine for the thickness and size of the noodle. Simply peel away all the green from the zucchini or outer part of whatever vegetable you decide to use. Then peel each side of the vegetable lengthwise, rotating it as you go. For us, three zucchini equals about two servings, or one for me two for Todd. Lol. Letting the noodles sit out for a while helps them to become softer. Additionally, you can soak them in water. Sometimes I rub them with olive oil and a little sea salt. You’ll just have to try different techniques to see what you prefer.

What shall you put on those naked noodles? Why! A delicious cheese sauce of course. (Today anyways.)

Rawfredo Sauce:

1 cup soaked cashews

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4-1/2 cup water

Directions:

Throw everything in the food processor and blend. You can add a little lemon juice if you like. Make sure not to add to much water or it won’t be as thick and creamy. Give it plenty of time to blend so you won’t bite into a chunk of cashew.

To this mix I like to add:

Marinated Mushrooms:

Namu Shoyu Sauce

Minced Garlic

Olive Oil

1 cup mushrooms

Directions:

Add a small amount of each ingredient to the mushrooms. Give the mushrooms a massage, they’ve had a hard life and you have know idea what they went to get here, what with being removed from their dark stump and all. Set them in the dehydrator to get warm and soft, but not too long. Usually I just have them going while I’m preparing everything else.

I also like to add in diced red bell pepper, or whatever other vegetable I fancy at the time.

Now who wants cold pasta? Not I. So I “cheat” a little bit (Don’t tell the crazy raw foodist clan or they come burn my stove down!) I put the whole mix into a pan and cook over VERY low heat standing right over it and stirring it constantly. This allows everything to meld together and get nice and warm. Hint: if it were to get over 115 it would burn your tongue. So it should be warm, not hot. When I first gave this to Todd, he didn’t know what it was, he just knew it was delicious. He thought I had actually used alfredo sauce and was wondering where I got the noodles from. Basically, you HAVE to try it. It’s law.

What’s so great about this pasta for our bodies? Because you’re not cooking it, it’s going to have enzymes and be easier to digest, while providing energy, which is the purpose of food in the first place. The zucchini is low in calories, while it doesn’t shine with any single vitamin zuccihni is just all around good for you with a few B vitamins, vitamin A, vitamin C, amino acids (to build protein), iron, and other minerals. It also high in fiber.

The cashews provide good fat and fiber to help you feel satisfied. If the cashews are truly raw and soaked they will contain enzymes, specifically lipase, which helps your body break down the fat. While cashews and nuts ARE high in calories and fat, studies have been conducted that show people who snack on nuts tend to have a healthier weight than those who don’t. Yay! The key, as always, is moderation. If you have a nut based meal for lunch, you probably wouldn’t follow with a nut based snack and nut based dinner. It just depends on your calorie and fat needs.

Just in case you’re more of a dip your toe into the water kind of person or you don’t have a food processor I’ll be nice and share. If you want to try the noodles, but not the cashew alfredo cheese, here’s a recipe I made before I ate mostly raw:

Skinny Alfredo Sauce:

1/4 cup low-fat or fat-free plain organic yogurt

4 oz organic low-fat cream cheese

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup of PLAIN almond, soy, or fat free organic milk

1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

Combine yogurt and cream cheese in a sauce pan until mostly melted. Add garlic and salt and slowly pour in the milk while continuing to whisk the mixture.

Now you can enjoy your vegetables and your pasta too!

Renee

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